Argentine President firms up attendance at troubled Americas summit

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentine President Alberto Fernandez confirmed he will attend the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles this month in a call with U.S. President Joe Biden Wednesday, Fernandez’s office said.

Fernandez had pressured the United States in recent days to invite Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua to the summit, in line with other regional leaders like Mexico’s Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who said he would not attend unless all were invited.

The summit, aimed at repairing relations between the United States and Latin America following Trump-era damage, has been marred with problems as invitations from the United States slowly roll out.

The United States is still hammering out a final guest list, senior U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

Biden and his Argentine counterpart agreed on the call to discuss food security and energy transition, among other topics, according to a statement from the president’s office.

Following the conference in June, Fernandez is expected to return to the United States in July to meet one-on-one with Biden to tackle climate change, renewable energy and human rights, his office said.

(Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Richard Pullin)